Ever had a friend break a promise? The cheque doesn’t come, the repairman doesn’t show up, your date doesn’t call? Count on it, people will let you down. But God won’t, ‘He always does exactly what he says. He…fulfills all…[His] promises’ (2 Corinthians 1: 19-20 TLB). Knowing that enables you to keep walking by faith while you wait for them to be fulfilled. James MacDonald says: ‘It’s the not-knowing that crushes us. We doubt…worry…despair…falter and fail…If we knew how this was going to play out we’d be okay. We can take a bad day…month…year…or decade…as long as we know how it ends. A health crisis…a question about your marriage…uncertainty over a child…we all have areas we need to hold on to what God said…He knows what he promised, He can’t lie, and He can’t forget. He’ll deliver on time. Who else can make a promise like that? Now I wish I could tell you it always figures out perfectly in our lifetime, but I’d be lying…You can’t make sense of God’s promises with this life only. You must factor in the reality of eternity…Eternity brings it all together…eternal life…and the assurance of heaven are what make His promises so precious.’ Victor Frankl, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, said, ‘A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes, whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them.’ A Sunday school class was memorising Psalm 23 and little Tommy couldn’t get beyond the first verse. On the big day he stepped up to the microphone, grinned at the audience and announced, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd-and that’s all I know!’ And it’s all you need to know for now.

Maybe that magical “thing” we feel for someone really boils down to … literally, chemistry.
The psychology of falling in love often revolves around physical chemistry, along with similarities such as socioeconomic backgrounds, levels of intelligence and good looks, and spiritual beliefs.

Yet, whom one falls for has a more primitive, inborn biology, says author Helen Fisher. That science explains one’s basic temperament and personality, the biochemistry behind it, and why a person falls for one kind of person over another.
The types are the adventurous Explorer, the reliable Builder, the ambitious Director, and the kind Negotiator.

“Why are we almost magically drawn to some people and not others?” says Fisher. She is a research professor of biological anthropology at Rutgers University, and author of books including “Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love,” and “Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray.”

While physical and sexual attraction also may have a biochemical base, Fisher focuses on the psychological side.

“You can feel very sexually drawn to somebody, but then they open their mouth and they have the wrong accent,” she says. “The brain sorts out whom you will feel romantically attracted to.

“I’m not talking about how you feel when you are in love,” Fisher says. She calls herself mostly an Explorer, with a secondary Negotiator. “I’m talking about what the brain circuitry is for romantic love.”

Though a person’s background can influence his or her relationship choices, there’s more to the story, Fisher says.

“Your childhood experiences play a role; there’s no doubt about that,” she says. “What I’m adding to the puzzle is the science half of the puzzle.”
“Why Him? Why Her?” — which had its first edition published in hardcover a year ago — features Fisher’s personality test, which also is available on http://www.chemistry.com, a dating site for which she is chief scientific advisor. After taking the test, readers can figure out their dominant personality, and learn what types are the best matches for them.

The theory about matches isn’t absolute, Fisher says; an Explorer and Builder aren’t a likely pairing, but can have a successful
relationship with extra work.

“There’s really no bad match, but there are some matches that are more natural than the others,” she says.

The book features an in-depth chapter on each personality type, so that readers can know what makes both them and potential partners tick. The same principle applies to other relationships, like with friends and family members, Fisher says.

“What I’m trying to do is show people more about themselves and more about their partner — More about whom they might make a really good match with, how to pick that person, and how to sustain a relationship with that person,” she says.

“This is a way of not only understanding your sweetheart, but understanding anybody,” Fisher says.
What’s Your Type?
Author Helen Fisher identifies four basic personality types in her book “Why Him? Why Her? How to Find and Keep Lasting Love.”
•The Explorer has a zest for life and adventure. Explorers are intensely curious, creative, energetic and spontaneous. They are risk-takers and can become bored easily. Explorers are optimistic, independent, and adaptable. This personality type is dopamine-based. •The Builder is loyal, conscientious and conventional. Builders value duty, respectability and proper moral conduct, and they tend to follow social norms and customs. They like to make plans and keep schedules. Builders are orderly and detail-oriented, and tend to be excellent managers. This personality type is serotonin-based.
•The Director is tough-minded, strong, direct and decisive. Directors tend to be analytical, skeptical and exacting. They are ambitious, achievement-oriented, pragmatic, daring, competitive and
self-confident. This personality type is testosterone-based, in both sexes.
•The Negotiator is imaginative, sensitive and theoretical. Negotiators also are unassuming, agreeable, intuitive and compassionate. They are emotionally expressive, and good with handling people. This
personality type is estrogen-based, in both sexes.
Explorers tend to fall for other Explorers, and Builders tend to fall for other Builders. Yet Directors and Negotiators tend to fall for each other

In the political world it is common for leaders to come together for a special meeting known as a peace summit. The purpose is to try and stop all the fighting and learn to live together in peace and harmony. Whenever you have a group of people living together in the same house, the time will come sooner or later when you need to make peace. You cannot continue to live in a situation of conflict. This is something that you can develop also to use for the whole family. But let’s learn to use it firstly just for those in relationships married or dating and in courtship.

How to dealing with anger

Jesus gave clear instructions concerning anger, in the following verse: Ephesians 4:26 Be angry, but do not sin: do not let the sun set on your anger: In my writings and study on hurts, anger and bitterness, I have seen that there are two main kinds of anger mentioned in the New Testament. These are explosive anger and implosive anger. The kind of anger mentioned in this verse is the kind that is not explosive. You will all agree with me, that relationships bring out all the skeletons in the cupboard out. In relationships we all get angry at one time or the other. Anger is always with us as long as we relate to people. So what the Scripture is saying here is that you should learn to hold back your anger. But then you should learn to also let it go. This is so important, we all get angry one way or the other, but we should also be able to master our anger than having it master our emotions. Most Gender based violence cases areas a result of anger out of control, that’s why you find the world over people are going through anger management programmes. That is the way to go, people get treated from so many addictions, others go through sex addictions, and the whole purpose is to bring anger and these addictions under control. The first step is to admit that I have anger which is out of control, most people I talk to refuse that they have anger that needs to be dealt with. Now a person who explodes their anger usually let’s it go pretty easy, but they can often cause the other partner to respond with the other anger. So one has ‘let it off their chest’ while the other continues to brood and boil with anger.

Temperaments in marriage

This kind of situation will always exist, because usually the temperaments in marriage will be such that one partner is more expressive than the other. So usually one of you will tend to be explosive, and the other will boil with anger. The key is to let all anger out before the day is over. That means no anger must exist by the time you go to bed that night. How do you do this? With correct communication! But how do you carry this out? One is ready to explode and tell the other what they think. The other is likely to avoid and keep it inside .Anger, bitterness and There is only one way to approach it, and that is what Jesus told us to do in the following passage: Matthew 7:3 And why do you look at the splinter that is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, Let me pull the splinter out of your eye; and, look, a beam [is] in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first remove the beam out of your own eye; and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter out of your brother’s eye. Usually when a husband and wife have a conflict, each blames the other for the problem. But as is indicated in dealing with anger, it is necessary for you both to turn your attention to the problem instead of accusing each other.

Conference/s daily:

So you must come together at least once each day, to share the things that are bothering you, or have made you angry. Sometimes it might be anger against your partner. Sometimes it might be anger against someone else. The key here is to help each other. So you start off with the following words: “I have a problem.” In this way you ‘look at your own beam’ first. And since your partner is not under the same burden of care as you, he or she can help you to break free. If you are angry with each other, or worried about the finances, or there is something else that is bothering you. You MUST deal with this before you go to sleep at night. And especially important, you must deal with it BEFORE YOU CONSIDER MAKING LOVE. As you learn to communicate better with each other, you can diffuse these things before they cause barriers to come between you. If you fail to do this, then you may be guilty of one or more of the three factors we mentioned in my article- stealing, lying and bad language. Learn to have a peace summit each day, and put to rest all your cares and concerns. You will sleep better and wake up feeling good the next day. And, more important, you will find that your love experience will blossom and the love making will become more wonderful than ever before

From the book, Mending Marriages by Chris Field.
Your working definition for marriage will impact what you are building and how you deal with it. The way you see something impacts how you understand it, value it and treat it. Consequently definitions are very important.
In my book, Mending Marriages, I take a good look at people’s working definitions for marriage. The reason some people need their marriage mended is because they have built the wrong thing on the wrong definition in the first place.
Casual observers see marriage as a ‘relationship’. That’s probably the universal starting point. However the nature of that relationship is where marriages come unglued.
To some people the marriage relationship is a special and life-long bond. Others have a much more casual definition of that relationship, seeing it as a temporary linking which will be broken when better or different alternatives come along.
A good working definition of marriage must bring clarity about the nature of the ‘relationship’.
The next key consideration is the functional aspect of the relationship. How are the couple to maintain their life together? What is the nature of their cooperation? While this is an aspect of the definition of the relationship it bears specific attention as it gives the practical expression of that relationship.
As an initial definition we can thus say that marriage is “a special relationship that fits special structural requirements”.
And that’s where the fun begins. What is the ‘special relationship’ and what are the ‘special structural requirements’? Around the world and through history many variations of both those aspects have been explored. Currently there is a push to move away from the history-long model of a man and a woman in a unique relationship. While alternative relationships have existed they have not been recognised as ‘marriage’, which status is seen as Holy Grail by some people.
Throughout history the ubiquitous model of marriage has placed the main responsibility for the relationship and its maintenance with the man. While modern sensibilities try to demean this reality it remains the most enshrined working model for marriage. Historically, all around the world, the vast majority of marriages have been established on the responsibility of the male, who creates a place of nurture for his wife and children. The wife is thus able to concentrate on her nurture of the children and her husband, while the man deals with the outside world and brings provision for his family.
In view of that long tested model it could be argued that the best way to destroy marriage is to demean men, taking their leadership from them. This will break up the family unit, bring uncertainty and insecurity and rob the home of the stabilising nurture of the mother.
Sadly we see much of that outcome already at work in many western families. While the western family home was a model of mutual benefit for the majority just a century ago, it is now an empty place, devoid of much that is needed to grace the human soul.
The most eminently qualified person to provide a powerful working definition for marriage is God. God created marriage and gave it as a gift to mankind. So God knows how it was designed to work. God knows what both husband and wife must do in order to fulfil the marriage relationship and build an effective family unit.
The Bible gives the most valuable and comprehensive insights into how marriage was designed and what we must to do enjoy its fullest benefits. The marriage relationship is best defined as that bond between a man and a woman which unites them in the relationship which God created for them.
Through the pages of the Bible we discover many things which impact the definition of marriage. We discover that it is God’s creation, not man’s creation. It is a holy union, not a relationship of convenience. Its purposes are divine, not human. Its roles are prescribed by God, not dictated by the power players in any given culture.
The bond is created by God, not the couple. A couple cannot pronounce themselves to be ‘married’. God joins the couple together. It is therefore a ‘holy estate’, not a social construct. And since God joins them together man and woman do not have the power to revoke it. God makes it and man cannot ‘un-make’ it.
God has prescribed specific and unique responsibilities to the man and the woman in marriage. These are not a matter of negotiation by the couple. They are prescribed by God and we will each be judged by God on how well we fulfil His demands, despite what we or our spouse think of the arrangements we have come to between each other.
The ‘relationship’ that is created, therefore, is a moral bond, established by God. It is not principally a social union, but a moral one. Each marriage union is a unique bond, excluding all others. It has the quality of a legal bond, since all who violate it are breaking God’s law.
The marriage union allows the couple to enter a unique moral connection where intimacy between them is made perfectly legitimate and holy. It confers on the couple exclusive sexual privileges.
Altogether, then, marriage is an amazing and awesome divine gift to humanity. Sadly many people do not understand what it is and so they enter into it lightly and without respect for their responsibilities or the accountability they have before God for their handling of His created union.
That’s why I bring the subject up along the way, in various forms. People need their eyes opened to this amazing moral union and its implications. That’s not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their spouse, their descendents and the culture in which they live. When God’s Kingdom comes it must impact the domestic home as much as the global environment or governmental circles.
Now, having given you this lengthy explanation, have a look at the definition of marriage which I present in Mending Marriages.
“Marriage is a unique, irrevocable, legal and moral bond created by God between a man and a woman who commit themselves to each other for life-long union, conferring on them exclusive sexual privileges and offering them loving relationship, mutual co-operation and personal investment in each other, in a divinely ordained structure and process in which both fulfil their unique, divinely created responsibilities, which they are to follow in the fear of God, with God’s gracious endowment and for God’s glory, conferring on them God’s personal blessings through each other as they create an effective and meaningful social unit with unique, multi-generational significance

A couple of hours prior to writing this article I was talking to a lawyer close friend of mine to be. She said,”Herbert,I am sacred to getting married in case I get the wrong person in my life.”I said to her that’s not the solution, maybe because of what she sees and hears in the corridors and courtrooms, whereby she sees people who once said until death do us apart, brutally killing and wounding each other beyond imagination. What she sees and is experiencing miles from my beloved country Namibia, seems like we are just having the same nightmares and experiences. Though she is thousands of miles away in Zamibia,her fears are what have griped everybody on planet earth. Whether to marry or not to marry.Annita my good friend in Zambia has the same fears like you and me are going through in other countries and continents. I said to my good friend Annita,”Me and you have a greater responsibility shouldered upon us, to correct the wrongs and make this generation hope in marriage again. I personally tend to think and conclude our mind set is the problem, I still stand to be corrected on this one. Marriage is a give and take life commitment. But most people get into marriage for the wrong motives, to have someone make them happy, to be loved when they can’t give back the love. It`s not just a you taking out, but what are you prepared to give to see your relationship last a lifetime? Am pulling no punches here, we don’t have any excuse to have mediocre relationships and marriages. We can best understand marriage by understanding the seasons that we have in life, and prepare accordingly for each season as it comes. We must prepare ourselves for all the seasons in life as much as we prepare for all the seasons in marriage. Let’s talk about the four seasons of marriage: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Usually we think of marriage as a relationship with our partner but it can also be the state of marriage solely within us called «the inner marriage.» The inner marriage is an intimate relationship with our self. We need a strong inner marriage of love, appreciation, understanding and respect for our self in order to experience the serenity, joy, and connection attainable in an outer marriage. Spring of Marriage is when matrimony begins. We are often young and overflowing with boundless excitement, optimism and desire. We start this first phase believing — unconsciously — that our partner is here to save our life and fulfill every expectation we ever dreamed possible. We are full of projections. In this early stage of development we rarely see the essence of the man or woman before us because we are so blinded by the light of the mythological god or goddess who blocks our view. We take our wedding vows, «Please heal me of every pain and love me forever.» Well, we didn’t say that but that’s what most of us thought. It’s a young and hopeful dream. We are in love and often madly so. Summer of Marriage is when we often bring children into the world. These precious little ones fill our lives with love, fun, pressure and (ugh!) adult responsibility. As the children grow, husbands and wives may argue that the spouse is not who we thought they were! We may even wonder if we are who we thought we were. Enter the mid-life crisis. It can be a stressful time of struggle. Later in this phase of the marriage cycle children will fly away from the carefully constructed family nest and into their brand new lives, just as their mother and father did. Husbands and wives now begin to surrender and let them go, albeit a little sadly. It’s an emotionally healthy and necessary choice. «Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days» go the words from Fiddler on the Roof. No wonder that song makes so many couples cry. Then we look around. It’s so quiet. The voice of Spirit whispers, «Something needs to change.» We think the something is our mate. «If only he…, if only she …,» Eventually we recognize it is not our mate but we who must change. We begin to understand that the inner marriage is of monumental importance. We commit to know yourself again. This commitment provides immediate insurance not just for us but for our couple relationship. It feels good. Understanding this inner marriage also makes boundaries clear, «I stop here and you start here.» Sometimes people are fearful that introspection might separate them. It could, but at least it’s honest. When we work to connect the inner marriage with our outer marriage we begin to appreciate the real glory in our spouse. We also begin to see the first authentic wrinkles of responsibility for our own life, too, and we begin to grow up. Of course, sometimes it doesn’t all work out and couples do separate permanently. But if that should occur at least each party has the satisfaction of knowing who he or she is and can apply it non-defensively for the good of the children and grandchildren involved. Not every relationship was made in heaven. Autumn of Marriage is all about transition and change. We watch our children raising their children. We graciously step back and let them live their own lives. We give them space when they need it. We throw our arms around the joy our grandchildren bring and pitch in whenever we can help. Watching our families grow is so full of wonder we want everyone to stop growing! But respecting time’s natural rhythm — especially when feeling astonished — helps us move right along with the changing tides as we consider what we want to do with our life now. Some want the pleasure of work, some the pleasure of play, and some want a combination. Being open to every new idea will see us through. That is key, keep it fresh. Winter of Marriage is when we enter into the final season of marriage with another or with ourselves alone for death or choice or fate may have put us there. So we pray for everyone’s good health. We are reflective and thoughtful. We live in our souls more. We recognize and give thanks for all the important moments in our life and for those we’ve met along the way who have helped us to transform, evolve and grow. We look forward to any final gifts of grace this season will provide. We reach for our partner’s hand or put our hand over our heart to touch the symbolic hand of our inner partner. At what season is your relationship or marriage, and what you going to do during this season? Prepare for them seasons before they come. Regards, Herbert Mtowo “ Start feeding opportunities and starve problems in your relationship……”

Old Higgins watched with wonder. He had never seen a woman with such irrepressible zeal for her role. Here was a wonder mum indeed.
He watched as she intercepted the scuttling feet and caught her son into her arms, despite his protests and cries. “Look, you’re a bird! Look how you can fly!” She swung him to the left and right and chuckled as she did. He kicked and screamed and demanded the right to run, but she pulled him to her chest and pointed to the sheep on the hill. “Look at the sheep. How many sheep are there?”
While Higgins and others scanned the flock to make their estimate the boy would have none of it. He kicked his mother and pulled his arms free from her hold. “Let me go!” He demanded. “Would you like some food?” the wonder mum asked sweetly. “Let’s see what mummy has in her bag for you.” The boy settled and stood at her side as she opened her huge bag.
At The Station
“What an amazing woman”, each onlooker thought, as they waited for the train. This wonder mum had struggled with her implacable child for over twenty minutes, and just kept on being calm, enthusiastic and positive. Just about every other person would gladly have thrashed the boy, but the mother was determined to win him over with her winsome ways and her never-ending store of surprises and delights.
After just a bite or two the food was thrown to the ground and a loud complaint bellowed forth. “Oh dear”, thought the weary crowd. They had hoped for success this time. Higgins found his muscles tighten yet again at the pitch of the boy’s scream.
And so it continued another twenty minutes. Food, drink, games, distractions, tickles, toys, song and dance spun past in a constant stream of ineffectual efforts. The crowd was exhausted, but amazed to see the stamina of the wonder mum, who pressed on through it all.
When the train finally arrived everyone became distracted in the bustle for their allocated seats. Wonder mum found the energy to carry her problem child and her bags onto the carriage.
Higgins was relieved to find himself in a different car to the wonder mum. He wondered how he would have survived even being near the child for the day’s journey. He would tell his daughter all about this wonder mum, when he arrived for dinner.
The Exhausted Mum
He had just settled into his seat when, to his dismay, a woman and child arrived to sit opposite. Rage rose in his face and a scowl formed on his lips. This young lad was almost identical to the monster tormenting and exhausting the crowd for the past hour. Burying himself in his paper he silently resented the injustice of the seating.
The woman was too tired to give much attention to her boy. He asked her several questions and wanted various things to amuse him. But she could not muster the energy to attend to his requests. She simply told him to read his book and keep quiet.
As the hours passed Higgins saw the boy sit contented at his play as the tired mum dozed. When the lad had an issue his mother gave clear direction which he followed. She was too tired or sick to amuse him for a moment, yet he seemed perfectly willing to accept that limitation and face his day compliant to her demands.
In time Higgins chatted with the toddler and found him to be polite and respectful.
The Lucky Mum
This was indeed a lucky mum. She did not need to be a wonder mum, with such a compliant child.
When the woman revived she answered Higgins’ questions. No, her son was not born ‘good’. He had presented her with demands, tantrums and wilfulness, just as they both had seen in the other boy that morning. She had dealt with it firmly, despite his protests. She had disciplined him and trained him to obey her instructions, even when he did not want to. She punished him with sufficient severity to convince him that he was wisest to obey.
She had now trained him to be no difficulty to those around him and she could have peace and confidence despite being unwell or tired, for her son would not be a problem to himself or others. She had neither bag of tricks nor endless energy. She did not have the stamina of the wonder mum in the other carriage. And she did not believe a child should be allowed to disrupt life for others.
At the Destination
At their destination angry passengers escaped from one carriage after a tortuous day with the wonder mum and her rebellious son. As the crowd gathered to collect their bags the mother, still struggling with her wilful boy, smiled her apologies to people too upset to notice. Near her, the other mum had sufficient strength to collect her things and move quietly, with her son, to the exit.
Higgins observed both mums and looked on with pity as the long-suffering wonder mum struggled with her rebel and her bags.
Wonder Mum
That night Higgins told his daughter about an amazing mum he had seen that day. A woman who made a lasting impression on him and who he would like her to learn from and be like. He also told her about the foolish mum who tortured herself and everyone else by not disciplining her rebellious child.

What It Takes to Be One Love alone won’t see you through., in an age when we have plastic marriages, plastic relationships, one may ask what does it take to have one strong and lasting happy relationship or marriage. My heart bleeds with pain as I write this article I just had a call from Windhoek from a colleague telling me of someone I had counseled as a practicing counselor it pains to get the news. He beat his wife to death, a very young couple they were, the man in his mid twenties and the woman in her early twenties. As I write this to you friends you realize how heavy my heart is at the loss of life, as the precious woman is dead, brutally in the name of love. Her dreams, aspirations and pursuits are all cut short. That`s why I put together a collection of thoughts just to check on you, and encourage you to be realistic and face the challenges of relationships with hope. What follows below may inspire you, enjoy and give comments freely. The sight of a couple sharing a joke and walking hand in hand, their faces lined all over with wrinkles, and their hair gray, begs the question: How did they remain a happy couple for so many years? Given that about half of all first marriages for men and women under 45 end in divorce, it’s a legitimate question. Their revelations may surprise you. «It’s not about how much you love each other, or how much money you have, or even if your personalities match,» Far more significant than these factors — yes, even more important than heart-pounding lust, which, let’s face it, often fades over time — is communication.. How well you and your spouse communicate with another? The second most significant factor that happy couples share, is a strong friendship. While you can’t necessarily teach a couple how to be friends, you can teach good friends how to communicate better. Developing Healthy Habits Three important ingredients of happy couples: • Avoid blowouts. «The first is to learn to talk without fighting about inevitable conflicts,». Making a concerted effort to see the other person’s perspective, and avoiding the blame game of «she said» or «he did,» goes a long way. When things appear to be hedging toward a blowout. Do what parents often tell young children: Take a «time out.» It’s a tactic he calls «exiting out of destructive fighting.» • Recall the positive. As parents often ask a child stewing in the time-out corner what she could have done differently, Couples in conflict take time to consider what brought them together in the first place. Then make room for those factors in your life again. «You’ve got to protect and preserve those positive connections — the friendship, the fun,» • Look to the future. While turning the clock back can help couples rekindle lost connections, I urge couples to simultaneously look forward. «You’ve got to have pretty long term vision of the future, shared dreams, and plans that represent a commitment to one another and your family,» Addressing a Sexless Marriage That future, according to most marriage experts, should include a healthy sex life. While sex isn’t everything to happy couples, sexual problems can lead to marital discord. That men and women tend to have different ideas about sex doesn’t help matters. Addressing a Sexless Marriage «Generally speaking, women tend to see sexuality as part of a larger construct. Men are exactly the opposite. «Women have to be in the mood. Men have to be in the room.» Many times, misunderstandings over these differences lead to a break down in a health relationship sexually within a marriage, even among happy couples. The result, is a sexless marriage. I call sexless marriages an «epidemic. Many of the married clients haven’t had sex in 10 years. Adopt a business approach to improve sex. Seeing things from a business-like perspective helps couples reframe their sexual relationship. «I tell them, ‘If this were a business, would you let it flounder like this?'» Presenting sex in this light makes problems, and solutions, more concrete for couples. «By likening it [marriage] to a business mode — with shared goals and missions; responsibilities, assets, and liabilities; and frequent business meetings — things shift,» Make honest assertions. To salvage their sex lives, some couples need to dig deeper. «Often, sex wasn’t good in the first place. A big complaint for women is that foreplay is bad or nonexistent,» But this isn’t easy for anyone to admit. «I do a lot of pushing for the truth,» Some couples simply aren’t prepared to tell, or hear, the truth. «A lot of couples fall out of it. It pushes too many buttons,» Learning Financial Savvy The topic of family finances is another hot-button topic, even for happy couples. Delegate the task of budget balancer. Experts observe that most happy couples recognize that handling household finances should remain a singular task. «Only one person can work the checkbook. There can’t be two CFOs,» That doesn’t mean, however, that the other partner should be kept in the dark about finances. Sheridan espouses making joint financial decisions, with just one person implementing. Start an emergency fund. I also strongly urge couples to plan for financial emergencies. This helps diffuse any potential blowups, such as who will sacrifice personal spending money when urgent house repairs must be funded. Every couple faces adversity, from slumps in their sex lives to bickering over the checkbook balance. Most married people can learn to become happy couples. «If both partners are motivated, they can turn things around. Hi guys make the best of your time and enjoy your relationships, whether dating or married, make the best of them

There is hope in the middle of darkness. Usually in the midst of our dark times in life, we find ourselves filled with trauma and loss. These elements hide in our very cells. Trauma is like a snapshot from a camera. The picture of the trauma is stored deep in our brains, but the Holy Spirit wants to move in such a way that we are sovereignly delivered. He wants to give us a new perspective on life and the world around us. When we do not deal with trauma effectively, we allow roots to grow that entangle our feet and keep us from moving forward on our new path of success. Trauma imprinted on our memory systems is also absorbed deep into the tissues of our brain (the processor) and affects our thoughts and our hearts. Trauma becomes the flashbulb that determines what we see and how we define the world around us. When not processed correctly, trauma will shape your world from the point of view of the incident. Trauma can produce lock-ins of fear, failure complexities, emotional distress, and anxiety, and it can even cause your organs (spleen, kidneys, pancreas) to overwork. Oh my! We may be going through a lot, but there is a way for us to overcome, to reverse the power of our dark hour, and to advance into the very best that still lies ahead. An over comer moves past defeats, past traumas, wounding, mistakes and failures to gain new strength and venture into the next season with hope. In the midst of darkness there is light. My favorite saying in life is “But God!” Your present circumstances are developing a mentality of victory within you. No matter what situation you find intruding in your life, you can shout, “But God! He is the light in my darkness!” Dark hours lie ahead, but an over comer’s anointing will break through and give you victory. One way God develops the overcoming anointing in us is by moving us past our last failure or even our last victory, and by enabling us to continue to run the race ahead. Some dark hours are not only in our future but many dark moments may also lie in our past. In other words, there were certain times that we just botched it, made a mess of things, or royally wasted our opportunity for victory or favor. We had an opportunity, we missed the opportunity, and the time of prosperity slipped past us. We listened to a wrong voice and chose a wrong path. Our desire went awry, and we had a relationship that was never meant to be. We heard God, we pursued His voice, but we somehow got tangled in the cares of the world and lost sight of the way. We started the race, got tired and dropped out. The most difficult situation in our lives occurs when we know the will of God one day but somehow make a mistake and cannot find our way on the next day. The great thing for us to know is this: There will come another day! . There is always a way back. You might have to scale a mountain or swim a river, but there is a way back or into the next phase of your life. You can survive and find the right road again. I have counseled many who have gone through terrible divorces, bankruptcies, losses of business and homes, diseases and depressions, and they have always been able to hear the Lord say, “This is your way into the new place!” Sometimes the second time around is the best! We know that “all things work together” for our good—even our mistakes, so we can rest assured that God can, and does, use our failures to teach and direct us when we humble ourselves and seek His face. Adapted from Redeeming the Time by Chuck D. Pierce, copyright 2009, published by Charisma House. This book will give you a new understanding of time and God’s redemptive plan for you—whether past, present or future. It will help you recognize God’s timing in your life and reap the rewards of a life in step with God. To order a copy click on this link

PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 6/29/2009

This week thank God that He is enabling you to continue to run the race ahead no matter what you experienced in your past. Ask Him to restore what was lost and give you new opportunities to serve Him and fulfill His call on your life. Continue to pray for revival and that God would accomplish His purpose in and through our nation. Pray for the protection of Israel, our allies, the military and the persecuted church. Thank God for the freedoms we still enjoy in this country and pray that they will continue for the spread of the gospel and the extending or His kingdom. Rom. 8:28; Psalm 33:1

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